Saturday, April 29, 2006

I was confused. Many people don't like the new policies regarding the government’s refusal to lower flags on Parliament Hill for fallen soldiers, yet cannot figure out why Stephen Harper would continue to favour such a policy.

I've tried. I've really tried to figure out the reasoning behind it. But the Conservatives are not giving me any answers. Of course it is not too difficult anymore once you look at how our southern neighbours deal with these issues. And why?

It all has to do with the propaganda machine. Canadians who go to war alive but return dead is simply bad news for politicians. As my friend pointed out, many politicians "don't give a shit" about soldiers.

But I do. And it's not hard to figure out the Conservative's hidden agenda. Defense minister Gordon O'Connor thinks it's "most appropriate" to keep the public away. And he's right; in the view of the Conservative Party it is most appropriate to "protect us" from such issues.

But the public has a different opinion. The latest Ipsos Reid poll found that sixty-six per cent of those polled believed that the decision to ban the media from the homecoming of the flag-draped caskets of Canadian Forces personnel is a "muzzle" as opposed to concern for families.

Don't you like it when a single issue, as clip and clear as this one, defines a party so well? The Conservative Party has a lot to learn. We're in 21st century were also real people have a voice. People like the father of the dead soldier.